Organizing the Inside – Day 321 Difficult People Can’t Be Avoided

July 20, 2012 at 3:30 pm · Filed under Encouragement, Love, Relationship, Wisdom, Women's Ministry and tagged: Christ, Christianity, Difficult People, Irritation

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked. Proverbs 25:26 (NIV)

Decide how to deal with difficult people before you encounter them. Keep yourself free from irritation and resentment by clarifying how you plan to handle things. Difficult people are out there, and there is no way to avoid them. Difficult people can be a true blessing; they will either help you grow or wear you down, but the choice of which one depends on you. Never allow them to overwhelm and frustrate you. Approach things from a place of ministry. Is this someone who needs to experience the love of God through you?

To save you from the mental and emotional clutter they bring, I thought I’d share a few tips to help keep you internally organized when dealing with them.

Not all bad, she just tends to rub you the wrong way. She loves playing devil’s advocate and will choose the opposing side just to muddle you. You want to go the other way when you see her coming, yet you also know dealing with her, in the end will only make you better. Yes, you can stand to learn a lot from the controllers, border blockers, spammers (always wanting to share something of little value) know-it-alls, and manipulators. Try this the next time you are faced with having to work with one of those difficult people:

1. Approach things from a loving perspective. (1 Peter 4:8) You never know what they’ve been through that is reflected in their behavior.
2. Make sure you aren’t harboring any unforgiveness or resentment. (Colossians 3:13)
3. Earnestly pray for them; don’t try to change them, leave that to God. (Revelation 22:11, 12)

Of course God knows all about it. Prayer releases you from having to spend extra time or energy trying to manage hard feeling or to get along. God understands how difficult people are wired and He can give you special insight into what to do differently. The most important thing is not that you’re no longer irritated by their demanding personality. A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11 (NIV) What’s important is that you let God use you and your unexplainable patience and compassion to help win them over to Christ. Deal with difficult people by showing them Christ in you.

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